Light Up
by jakelsx
Summary: .troyella. Light up as if you have a choice.
1. Chapter 1

**Light Up**

**Pt. 1**

He's getting old, or so they tell him. That's the explanation for it.

But he doesn't want an explanation; he wants an answer.

"You're life is just going to go on the way it usually does," the doctor says, face as still as stone. He fidgets with his shirt.

"How?" he asks.

"Well, it takes a long time for this to take over you; you should have a good couple of months before you have to be sent here again." The doctor tries to look optimistic but it's impossible because he just someone their death sentence.

Troy Bolton wasn't that old to begin with. He was only in his late thirties. He had a kid eleven years old now. He had a wife for fourteen years now.

He runs his hand through his hair. Impossible.

He decides to tell his wife and then decide what to tell his kid.

When he gets home, he can smell his favorite dinner already on the table. He rushes to the dining room and finds his son already scarfing down his chicken and his wife patiently telling him to slow down. She notices Troy.

"Honey," she says, brightly. She quickly forgets about her child's messy eating habits but then again, she blames Troy for giving him those genes.

Troy watches as her chocolate colored eyes light up. She doesn't look any older to him. He, for sure, couldn't play basketball as well as he used to and had a few wrinkles here and there but she still looked as if she was twenty-five, just a few more smile lines.

"Gabriella," he breathes. He takes two long strides and kisses her square on the lips. She's taken aback. He doesn't usually act like this.

In the backround, the parents can hear their kid making gagging noises.

Maybe it wasn't good to taste dessert before dinner because he couldn't think about eating the entire time. His eyes just wandered around the table to his son's messy plate, his wife's beautiful hands, and the big taunting piece of chicken on his own plate. He hadn't realized that everyone had finished eating already.

"Troy?" she asks when their son excuses himself to watch some TV before he goes to sleep. He snaps out of his thoughts and turns to Gabriella, who looks curiously at him like in high school when he would be so pressured about basketball and his grades were dropping.

He clears his throat. "Yeah?" he replies.

She places her hand on his. "Are you alright?" she asks. He would tell her now.

"Gabriella," he replies, trying to find words. He leans to gaze into the living room where their son is station comfortably on the couch. He looks at her again. It makes it even harder. He takes her hand and without a word, drags her upstairs.

He closes the door of their room and sighs heavily. "Gabriella," he starts again. He feels her soft skin rub against his rough skin.

"I went to the doctor's today. It was why I was late for dinner," he said. Gabriella's eyes immediately widened.

"The doctor's? What happened? Are you alright?" He gives a small smile.

"I'm fine but I've been diagnosed with Alzheimer's." He waits for screaming, yelling, anything. But nothing comes.

After a long pause, she repeats,"Alzheimer's?"

There is a disbelieving expression on her face. "But the doctor says that I have a couple of months to live independently."

Thoughts run through Gabriella's mind at vigorous speeds. She almost gets a headache from too much thinking.

"Then you'll forget everything?" she asks. He nods. "Even Jake?" He nods again, almost flinching at the thought of forgetting his son. After a strange silence she adds, "Even me?"

He looks at her suddenly, his eyes making fast movements. He can't contemplate the thought about forgetting her. His chest feels heavier all of a sudden. The thought that she was there but he wouldn't be able to recognize her and know who she is…. He started to breath harder.

"Calm down," she says, steadily. He's had some lung problems before. It was why he quit basketball. He only breaths more erratically. She gently pushes him to lay down and rest his head on the pillow. "Breath, Troy."

He starts to relax. He closes his eyes and groans as he feels her calm down too. "What am I going to do, Gabriella?" he asks, his voice stretching and crackling.

**She** doesn't think but says: "You are going to live your life like you've always wanted to."

He looks at her curiously.

She explains. "Jake is almost out for summer break. We'll go on a vacation. We'll have more movie nights. You and me can have sex." He chuckles. "Whatever you want, Troy."

"Sex?" he inquires. He raises an eyebrow. She scrunches up her nose and smiles.

"I knew that was going to come up again."

He bursts out into laughter, pulling her close to him.

They lay for a while on the bed, embracing each other. Then they hear their son from downstairs. "Mom!" Jake yells in a sing song voice. Gabriella grins.

"I'd better go check on him," she whispers into his ear. She gently kisses the side of his face and climbs out of bed, downstairs.

After a while, the bed started to get cold. He would go down too.

He reached the crème colored door. He reached for the knob but stopped.

Which way did you turn it again? Did you push or pull?

**AN/ hrm... running out of these to do to them. It's a little far-fetched, I know**

**review?**


	2. Chapter 2

Light Up

**Light Up**

**Pt. 2**

Two months had passed. It was now August. The calm, balmy Albuquerque weather was relaxing.

The Boltons just got back from their two week vacation in beautiful Hawaii. Jake had never been there before. He was so excited.

The family went to the beach and did everything they could there, burning a hole into their budget. Gabriella insisted it was okay though. She said that he should enjoy this. Of course, aside from family fun, the two fooled around together too.

They planed to stay at Hawaii for two weeks and a half. They had to come back early because Troy didn't remember what high school he went to. Or elementary school. He was also a lot more tired.

"Troy," Gabriella calls. He turns from the sunset and looks at her. She looks beautiful. "I just called the hospital. They can take you in now."

He runs his hand through his shorter hair. His blue eyes have faded over the years, desaturated.

He takes one last looks around their porch, knowing that he'll probably never see it again. "Did you tell Jake?" Troy asks, getting up and walked towards her.

"I was thinking maybe you should tell him," Gabriella suggests. She looks at him yearningly.

He pauses and looks at the floor. "What am I supposed to tell him?" he asks her. She steps forward rubs his arm, comforting him. He looks into her eyes and searches for the answer that was always there before. It's not there this time and he feels lost. "Daddy got a broken leg? I'm sick?" His gaze wanders behind Gabriella, where he could see Jake on the couch staring intensely at a basketball game. He looks back at Gabriella. "Daddy's going to die?"

She clasped her hands around his. "No," she says sternly. "Don't say that. Don't you dare." She pulls him inside.

Jake looks up from the TV. "What's wrong, Mom?" he says. His raven colored hair is falling into his icy blue eyes. He senses his mom's distress.

"Nothing, Jake," Gabriella replies in a sweet voice. Troy still stares expressionless at a nearby wall. "We're going out."

"Where?" he says excitedly. He gets up, scrawny legs bounding to get his shoes already.

"Hospital," she replies. Jake stops and looks at his parents.

"Why?" he asks. Gabriella nudges Troy. The man looks tiredly at his son.

"I'm a little… sick," Troy manages. "They need to check to see what's wrong."

"Sick?"

"Yeah, Jake. Come on, put on your shoes and let's go."

When they get to the hospital, the doctor that talked to Troy before was there. His name is Dr. Keegan. He waits patiently as Troy and Gabriella fill out the forms. Jake is sitting in the waiting room, playing with his new PSP. Troy got it for him to the disappointment from Gabriella. "He needs to concentrate on learning," she told him.

"Gabs, chill," he told her. "He's only eleven. He's smart, look who his mom is, and he's going to be fine."

"Come," Dr. Keegan says. "This way." He looks at Jake. "He can come too."

Gabriella nudges Jake and he gets up and follows his parents. "Mom, where are we going?" he asks. Gabriella slips an arm around his shoulders.

"A special room, hon," Gabriella says after a few moments of thinking. Jake doesn't bother to try to comprehend it.

"Dad," Jake says, turning his attention to the man trudging behind the doctor. "You look tired." Troy turns around and gives a small smile.

"I'm kind of tired. Why?"

Jake smiles. "I was thinking that when we're done we can go play basketball at West Oak Park. I heard from Mark that they just got their basketball courts paved. It's going to be so cool."

Gabriella's heart slowly breaks.

"We'll see, bud," Troy says with a crooked smile. He ruffle's his son's hair. They both laugh.

But then the doctor was already around the corner, just waiting to condemn.

--

Six months pass. Jake's smile isn't as bright anymore.

Troy is more aggressive but at the same time more calm if that's even possible.

He goes home sometimes and always plays basketball with Jake.

Gabriella spends time with him at the hospital. It's late at night on Tuesday. Jake is already asleep. Gabriella decides to visit Troy.

He's almost asleep. He's reading a book on the hospital bed. "Knock, knock," she calls quietly. His eyes shoot up at her.

"Gabriella," he smiles. She returns it and strides to the bed. He motions for her to lay down next to him. She does.

She smiles back at him and then sighs. "What's wrong?" he asks her.

"It's Jake," she says. His eyes darken.

"Is he alright?"

"He's fine but he wants to know why you've been in the hospital so long," she says. "What do I tell him?"

He thinks. He doesn't think too hard; it makes his head hurt now. He just goes over options but only one is left. "Tell him the truth," he says. Gabriella looks appalled.

"What? Why? He-he wouldn't get it. He's only twelve."

"Twelve?"

"He turned twelve two months ago, Troy."

He pauses. "Right. I… I forgot."

She sighs and pushes her forehead harder against his chest like she wanted to be possessed by him. She rubs her nose against the fabric of the hospital gown. It smells funky but she can still feel his warmness.

"I don't really want to tell him," Gabriella whispers.

He wraps his arm around her comfortably and squeezes her waist.

"Have him call me or visit. I'll tell him." She looks up at him. His eyes are glistening with tears of… happiness?

"Are you okay? You're cool with you telling him?"

Troy nods.

"Gabriella," he calls.

"Yes?"

"Listen to me very carefully." He drags his eyes to anywhere but her face. "I'm going to die……sooner than most people. That's all Jake needs to know. That's all anyone needs to know."

Her heart breaks all over again and it was like someone shot an air gun at her chest. There is a moment of recoil and a sort of glazed look in her eyes before she regains composure. By then, Troy is already asleep. She slowly withdraws from him and kisses him softly on the forehead.

Her fingers graze over his forehead, brushing some of his hair aside. "Don't say that," she whispers to herself.

--

Jake bounces happily into Troy's room. "Hey, buddy!" Troy calls. Troy gives his son a high-five. "Whoa, you getting stronger or something? Let me feel that arm." Jake holds out his arm and flexes it. "Do you have the ladies chasing you around now?"

Jake laughs. His voice has gotten a tad deeper. "Not yet, dad but I swear there's this one girl named Tiffany. Hot."

Troy nods. "Nice."

But Jake's smile quickly fades and he sits down a chair by his father's bed. "So mom told me that you wanted to tell me something," Jake says.

Troy looks up and sees a flash of dark almond colored hair then nothing. He turns back to Jake. "Yeah…" Troy starts. "Mom told me that you wanted to know why I was in the hospital so long." Jake nods.

Troy looks at Jake again and the same blue eyes meet. He wants to remember his son so badly.

"The doctors told me that I'm going to die." Troy waits for a reaction. Nothing comes. "Sooner than most."

"How long?" Jake asks.

"Five, ten more years maybe."

"How come?"

Troy doesn't answer. "Come on, dad," Jake says. "I'm old enough. Tell me." Troy scratches the back of his head as if his thoughts would come back to him that way.

"Alzheimer's. They said I have Alzheimer's. Look it up, Jake." Troy gives a smile and Jake returns it. He gets up and turns around. "Wait, son." He turns back to look at his father. "Where's your mom?"

"Do you want to see her?" Jake peeks out into the hallway and down the corridor. "I think I see her in the parking lot." He squints and then comes to a realization. "She's… she's crying."

"You take care of her," Troy says after thinking. He smiles a little more, hoping to add some flavor to his graying life.

--

Gabriella Montez-Bolton thinks. She thinks a lot.

_"It looks the same," he said. Troy looked up confused._

_"No, the current color is light blue. I want to paint it periwinkle. Plus, my mom wants a change in my room," Gabriella pointed out. Troy sighed._

_"Why do I have to paint it?"_

_"Because _you _said we weren't doing anything 'manly' lately. So here it is: your manly activity of the week." He looked at her and his heart melted._

_"Fine." He picked up a brush and started painting one of the walls. She grinned triumphantly and picked up one of her own. _

_Six hours later, they're done. Gabriella painted one wall and Troy painted four. "My arms are going to fall off," Troy groaned. Gabriella walked up to him and massaged his shoulders._

_"Poor baby," she smirked. "Let's go have dinner then. On me." She got up on her tip toes and kissed his temple. "You just spent an entire afternoon doing something manly so now be unmanly and let me pay." He just groaned again and turned to face her. She was so tiny next to him._

_His hand covered hers and she thought that he was going to collapse on her but he engulfed her in a huge hug. She giggled and hugged him back. "Live with me till we're two hundred," he whispered into her ear._

_She smiled and he felt her hot breath on his ear. "I doubt we'll live that long," Gabriella said, "but I promise you we'll live our whole lives together, however long it may be." She heard him sigh in contentment. "It would never be long enough anyways." _

_"Deal," he said. He pulled back and kissed her sweetly._

Troy Bolton wasn't living till two hundred.

--

Another four years pass.

Troy's whole body is losing color and the last time he visited home was three months ago.

_"Home."_

_"Come on, dad," Jake's voice is almost as deep as Troy's now. "One-on-one."_

_"What?"_

_"You're getting old, dad. Keep up with the times." Troy shrugged and smiled, the softness in his face more in depth. The two were just about to walk outside._

_"Jake!" Gabriella called. It was like she appeared out of nowhere. Jake turned around._

_"Mom?"_

_"Are you sure you should be dragging your father outside? It's raining." Jake looked outside and sighed._

_"Fine. I'll go upstairs and finish homework then." Jake ran up the stairs._

_"I better not hear Tiffany on the phone!" Gabriella called after him. Then she turned her attention to Troy, who was rubbing his forehead. "You've got a 24 hour leave. What do you want to do?" Gabriella beamed as she stepped closer to him. He winked at her tiredly. She took a final stride toward him and kissed him in the first time in months. Their lips massaged each other like they'd been doing for the last twenty years. He pulled away so slightly that his lips were still touching her flesh and leaned down to trace his tongue along her jaw bone. She clutched his jacket and emitted a quiet, subtle moan. She pulled him closer to her. He leaned to that his lips were right next to her ear._

_"Ice cream," he said. She broke out into laughter and playfully hit his chest._

_"Troy! Way to ruin the moment!" _

_"What? You asked what I wanted to do." She took his hand and led him to the kitchen. She prepared his ice cream and gave it to him. _

_"Your favorite in high school," she said, hoping to trigger a memory or two. They took a seat on the couch and he dug into the ice cream. "No," she said, smiling. He looked at her confused. "You always ate it like this-" She pointed at the bananas on top. "You always ate those first." He took his spoon and ate the cold bananas. "Then you finished all the butterscotch." He grinned and it looked like he recalled. He skinned all the topping from the vanilla ice cream. _

_"I think I know what goes next," he said. He scooped some vanilla and held it in front of her. "Come on, I know I gave you some." Tears formed in her eyes as she smiled. She took the ice cream off his spoon and then he kissed her cheek. "Ice cream makes everything better." _

_She looked into his blue eyes that had once been shining and always vibrant. Now they were soft and mellow. "Not everything." He put down his bowl and as soon as he did, she forced her lips on his with all her strength. She knocked him down so that she was on top of him. Their mouths opened and their tongues started wrestling. Gabriella moaned uncontrollably into his mouth, remembering his taste. Her hand traveled beneath his shirt to feel the ruggedness of his body. It was the same but he was a lot thinner. When Troy had to pull away for air, his hand traveled up to her head and softly ran over her perfect features. _

_He touched her hair. He tried to embed the softness into his memory but he knew that would never happen. His other hand ran down her body, trying to do the same thing. It was no use; they both knew. _

_"I don't want to forget you," Troy whispered. Gabriella wiped away one of Troy's tears before completely crying and dropping her head onto his chest. His arms automatically surrounded her. Her arms were folded on her chest and it felt like high school again when Gabriella would get this paranoia about a grade and he would just hug and whisper sweet words into her ears. But he had only apologies to make this time. "I'm so sorry, Gabriella." He said. _

_"What can you be sorry for, Troy?" She spoke into his shirt. It didn't reek of the hospital. She paused right before his name, as if wanting to preserve it. _

_"I'm sorry that I'm going to throw away everything we've made," he said. _

_They cried together, becoming one breaking unit._

_And Jake Bolton's heart broke as he came down the stairs._

He hasn't seen Gabriella or Jake since then. Jake is busy with finals and Gabriella has to help him. He wishes he could be there but the doctors say that he'll probably never get to go home again.

Another month passes. Jake is done with his freshman year of high school. Gabriella comes to visit him.

"Hey, hon," she says. "Sorry I've been so busy but on the bright side, Jake got at least a B on all of his finals." Troy smiled.

"That's good, that's good," Troy says. "He still crushing on that Tiffany girl he was talking about?"

"Oh, Troy," Gabriella sighs. She sits in the chair next to him and smiles. "They've been dating for a year now."

"Oh." She reaches out and grabs his hand. The wedding ring is still there.

"_This could be the start of something new_," she sings softly, "_it feels so right to be here with you…_"

Troy wrinkles his eyebrows. "That's a nice song." He sighs and closes his eyes. "Music these days, huh?"

Gabriella mouth slowly opens and her hand slowly withdraws.

"Yeah." 


	3. Chapter 3

**Light Up**

**Pt. 3**

Five more years pass.

Jake is graduating from high school. After a fight, the doctors reluctantly give Troy a five-hour leave but if anything happens, the hospital would automatically be notified.

Troy has his arm around Gabriella as he blinks a couple times. "Already?"

"I know," Gabriella whispers. She has the widest smile on her face anyone could ask for. Troy couldn't help but to smile along. She was contagious.

"I don't… I don't even remember taking him to kindergarten. This is….wow."

Gabriella looks up at Troy's confused face. She sighs.

--

After the graduation, Gabriella drives them all back to the hospital.

It's just in time too. Troy's having a coughing fit in the back seat. "Jake, help your father out of the car," Gabriella says. Jake steadies his father and walks him into the hospital. Jake is tall now, taller than Troy; he is also well-built, just like Troy in high school.

Gabriella gets Troy checked in and he takes his place on the hospital bed. Gabriella leans down as presses a warm kiss to his forehead. "I'll see you tomorrow," she says quietly. Jake walks up to his dad to say his goodbye but nothing comes out.

"Jake…" Troy sighs. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure," Jake says. Troy looks at the open door behind him.

Troy closes his eyes and groans. "Look after your mom, alright?" Jake stands up straight on the verge of tears.

"Why can't you, dad?" Jake's voice is quivering as he reaches out for his father's hand.

"She needs someone. I can't be there anymore. She doesn't… she doesn't need _me _anymore."

Jake nods and then rushes out of the room, tears already streaming down his face.

Troy sighs and then fiddles with the golden band on his finger.

--

Jake is playing with a basketball in his room, tossing it up and then catching it. Gabriella walks in. She has a worried expression on her face. "Jake," she says. Her son turns to look at her. "You just finished high school today. Do you have plans?" She walks toward him and takes a seat next to his bed. "I hear you have this summer trip to Rome with your friends. I asked your father. We agreed that you could go."

Jake catches the ball. "But what if dad isn't here when I come back?" Jake asks, his pale blue eyes sparkling in the Albuquerque sunlight. He tucks the ball under his arm and turns to Gabriella. "Mom, what if he dies?"

Gabriella is appalled at the question. She wonders why he is thinking like this but then the question gets to her. She puts a hand on her forehead and suddenly feels very old.

"Mom? Are you alright?"

Gabriella takes a few deep breaths and tries not to cry. "I'm fine."

She stands up and leaves the room but before she does, she turns back at Jake and says, "He's not going to die."

That night, Jake hears his mom crying out Troy's name.

--

The hospital is deathly quiet.

It is a sunny Thursday morning in Albuquerque. There is nothing coming out of room 305 except for an occasional beeping sound from an ICU machine.

He wants to get up and go play basketball.

Why not? It's his favorite sport. There is no lung disease or Gabriella. Only basketball.

Where was his dad?

There is a woman outside his door.

She appears to be upset.

……

"Doctor," Gabriella pleads. She is old now with her son in college. Jake was a junior now. "Just a couple more days, please. Our son is going to come over from UCLA."

"Mrs. Bolton," Dr. Keegan says for the last time. "There's nothing we can do. His body is already broken down and frankly, he doesn't even know what he's living for. He hasn't been talking or eating. All signs point that he isn't going to last that much longer."

Gabriella's eyes fill with tears. "Dr. Keegan, please. I'm begging you."

Dr. Keegan shakes his head and walks away.

She is left staring at the quietness of the hospital.

…

Jake gets a call from his mom. "Your dad isn't going to be here when you come back," Gabriella says.

Jake is frozen. Then he starts stuttering, a trait he got from his mother. "What-Wh-What if I came early? What i-if I… g-got another flight? An earlier one?"

"I-I don't know. Jus- Just try." Click.

…

He never looked more beautiful before.

She couldn't describe him in any other words. It was the way his hair fell perfectly around his eyes and the defined chin and cheekbones that made all the girls swoon. It was those lips that she got to kiss. She holds his hand for her life.

He's still alive and he could still talk but his heart is failing and there are more machines attached to him.

"Oh my god, Troy," she sighs and takes in the eerie hospital surroundings. "What are we going to do with you?"

--

He sees someone gorgeous in the doorway. She's absolutely stunning. She has beautiful black curls that ran down a little past her shoulders. Her eyes seem to attract all the light in the room. Her face is perfect.

Wait, now she's coming toward him. He tries to be cool and winks at her.

For a second, she forgets that the last ten years had ever happened and that he's just winking at her because he loved her.

But he didn't even know her. Not anymore.

Her breath hitches still hitches like usual. She still feels warm inside when he looks at her. But his eyes are emptier, more clueless.

The doctor told her that he wasn't talking or eating. He was very pale and skinny now. The bone in his face could be seen more clearly. His whole body is colder.

She sits down by his bed. She wants to tell him everything so that she could spend her last moments with him like normal. She wants him to love her like normal. She wants him out of the hospital and in her arms. But she can't tell him anything. It would be too overwhelming.

The selfish feeling is nagging at her as he stares at her longingly. "Are you a nurse?" he finally asks. She's happy to hear his voice again.

"Yes," she whispers. Her breaths are long and deep. She could sense death in the room already. The machines loom over her like they were about to kill both of them. She reaches for his hand and grasps it tightly. It was all she could do. She couldn't kiss him and tell him that she loved him. She couldn't tell him about Jake.

"Sweet," he says. He closes his eyes and Gabriella becomes frantic.

"No, wait," she says. He opens his eyes and looks at her. "Troy." Who's that? "I have something to tell you."

"Hold on," he interrupts her. His hand squeezes hers one last time. "I'm kind of tired. Can you tell me after I take a little nap?"

Her mouth hangs open. His eyes are half closed and his breathing is very haggard.

She's about to scream, yell, throw a tantrum. Instead, all of her energy releases.

"Okay," she says finally. She smiled at him. He smiles back.

She will always remember his smile, even if he couldn't remember hers.

His eyes close and his memories come back, just for a split second.

Then the machines come alive and Gabriella cries. She hopes no one can hear her. She hopes no one would notice her. Suddenly, she wishes she'd never met Troy. She would never have to go through this heartbreak. She wouldn't have to fall in love and have a beautiful child.

When she looks at his still face, she thinks differently. She regrets not spending more time with him. She does something stupid and illogical, following her freshly stabbed heart instead of her brain. She crawls onto the bed with him and litters kisses all over his face. She rubs her fingers over his cheeks and presses her nose against his. He's still warm. "Come back," she wails. "Come back, please! I love you! Oh my god, I love you so much." Her skirt is hiked up to her hips as she wraps her legs around him. "Don't leave me."

She wraps her arms around him and hugs him like she could actually bring him back to life that way.

Outside, a boy is crying.

He's just a boy now. A boy without a father. He gets to the hospital minutes after his father passes away.

Gabriella places one last pitiful kiss on Troy's lips, still warm and colorful, before she goes outside to meet with their son.

* * *

**AN- to my grandpa and grandma. ye ye: forever be in peace.**

**how'd you like the ending? the story?**


End file.
